


Madness Is Better than Being Mad

by Zetal (Rodinia)



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Basically, M/M, Otabek's POV of the Manga, Welcome to the Madness Manga Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-27
Updated: 2017-07-31
Packaged: 2018-11-05 09:29:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,693
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11010663
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rodinia/pseuds/Zetal
Summary: Fourth place at the Grand Prix Finals is a trip to the Grand Prix Finals, but it's also fourth place.  Otabek is frustrated, and he's angry, and he needs to work this out himself.  Yuri does not make that easy for him.





	1. Chapter 1

Except for one thing, Otabek’s Grand Prix Finals had been successful beyond his wildest dreams. Cracking 110 with his short program was amazing, even if it was only good enough for second. He’d managed not to chicken out of talking to Yuri Plisetsky, with a little help from some of his Angels, and for the past three days he and Yuri had been practically glued together. First thing they did in the morning was find each other, they spent as much of the day together as they could, and didn’t say goodnight until they had to.

Tonight, though… Otabek needed some time to himself. He didn’t mind being beaten by Yuri. Yuri had earned his gold and Otabek couldn’t be happier for him. Katsuki… well. Hard to argue with someone who can beat Viktor Nikiforov’s record being on the podium. Losing to JJ Leroy hurt like hell. He didn’t hate JJ like Yuri did, but after JJ’s horrible showing in the short program and start to the free skate, for the judges to end up putting him over Otabek just plain sucked.

Of course, Yuri’s seething hatred of JJ would come in handy later. When it hurt less and Otabek had found the ability to laugh, he was pretty sure he could count on Yuri to have some very entertaining thoughts on JJ getting the bronze, but he didn’t want to hear any of that tonight. He’d gotten out of the medal ceremony without Yuri catching him, but he didn’t quite make it out of the hotel. “OTABEK!” Yuri came running out to him. “Going out somewhere?”

Otabek kept walking toward his motorcycle. “Yeah, an acquaintance of mine is DJing at a club nearby, so I thought I’d stop by.” Lying to Yuri hurt almost as much as losing to JJ, but there was no way Yuri would stay behind if he knew Otabek was going to DJ.

He’d underestimated just how cool Yuri found his hobby, though. “Seriously? Let me come too!”

“Yuri… how old are you now?” Not that Otabek didn’t know perfectly well. Any other circumstances, he’d probably have found a way to sneak Yuri in.

“Fifteen! I’ll be sixteen in March.”

It was the perfect excuse. “Sorry. I can’t bring you along.” He took off. Over the roar of the motorcycle, he could hear Yuri yelling, but he couldn’t make out the words. It sounded a bit too much like “we’re through” for comfort, though.

 

The whole ride to El Poblenau, while he parked his motorcycle and headed inside to set up, he managed to shove it out of his head. Once he had the music going, though, he couldn’t help it. His thoughts kept drifting to Yuri. Well, at least fighting with Yuri had made him forget how upset he was over missing the podium. He wasn’t entirely sure he liked what that was saying about his relationship with Yuri, but…

Okay, either he was thinking too much about Yuri, or Yuri had somehow found him – and gotten himself inside. He recognized that jacket that was sliding off Yuri’s shoulders, exposing the ripped tank top underneath. The one he’d bought for Yuri on their shopping trip the day before. Yuri had promised to pay him back by buying him a tiger shirt that he swore was awesome fashion. When Yuri turned and shot him a finger gun, Otabek smirked. Yuri looked like he was in a good mood.

He hadn’t planned on playing “Welcome to the Madness”, he wasn’t entirely sure he had his mix where he wanted it, but the song suited Yuri perfectly. Yuri would love it. He started it up and shot back at Yuri.

Yuri danced like everyone else at first, but as the song was coming to an end, he ran over to the DJ booth. “Otabek! I want to skate to this song for my exhibition!”

“Huh?” Otabek quickly announced the end of his set, a couple songs earlier than he’d planned, but that was all right. “Come on, let’s go outside before they start asking questions.”

 

Outside, they found a bench to sit on. “You’re gonna change your exhibition choreography now? What do Yakov and Lilia think of this?”

“They don’t think anything of it. They know I don’t want to do the Angel thing, but I didn’t know what I did want to do until just now. I’m not telling them, either. I want them to be as surprised as everyone else.”

“What’s going on, Yuri? Why don’t you want to do Lilia’s program? It’s beautiful, and…”

Yuri leaned forward, arms crossed on his knees and head down. “And it’s choreographed to go along with my free skate. I know, I won gold, but I fucked that up and lost to Katsuki, and that pisses me off. It’s tearing me up inside, and if I go out there and skate something that reminds me so much of it…” He shrugged. “I just wanted to get your advice about it, is all…”

“I see.” Now Otabek felt bad about blowing Yuri off. He hadn’t realized that Yuri was upset at all. “I’m sorry, then. I don’t want things to end awkwardly between us… it’s been bugging me.”

“Same. I’m sorry, too. You must be even more upset than I am.”

Honestly? Otabek had forgotten about it. He wasn't quite sure he was comfortable with what that said about his relationship with Yuri, but at least he still had his relationship with Yuri. “All right. Let’s do this. But if we’re going to make something, let’s make something so cool it’ll lay everyone flat out! That’s the Yuri I most want to see!” Otabek stuck out his hand.

At Park Guell, Yuri had hesitated. Not long, but he’d had to think about it. Here, there was no hesitation. Yuri clasped his hand right away. “Yeah!”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Planning and performing "Welcome to the Madness".

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I wrote more of this. I don't know when Chapter 3 will be up, as I'm kind of busy with other projects, but I do plan to write the banquet.

To Otabek’s immense relief, Yuri acknowledged that he’d probably end up making up a lot of this skate as he went. “I’ve got some ideas, but nothing too complicated. Make some Angel’s day by throwing my sunglasses into the stands, I wanna try the Weir slide…”

“Your jacket’s going to get in the way of that.”

Yuri shrugged. “So I’ll take it off. Not gonna throw this into the stands, just kinda off to one side.”

“You’re going to take off actual clothing on the ice. Especially considering the back of that shirt?”

Yuri crossed his arms and glared at Otabek. “Is this a ‘you’re fifteen how dare you be sexual’ lecture or a ‘you’re going to be on the ice you’ll freeze’ lecture?”

“This is an ‘I don’t want to watch my friend get murdered by his coach’ lecture. It’s not like you’re suggesting taking off the pants.” The shirt, by itself, would probably draw some disapproval but not cause a scene with Yakov. Otabek had seen some of the costumes Viktor got away with when he was a teenager. Yuri would be fine. Pulling off the jacket, though, upped the shock value to where Yakov would probably be furious.

“There’s no way I could do that on the ice. These things are tight, and I’d never get them over my skates without ripping them.”

“Yuri!”

“Aaand, I’m fifteen, I shouldn’t go too far.” Yuri smirked and got to his feet. “Come on. Somehow, I’ve gotta practice some of this. Any ideas for something that would look cool to get the gloves off?”

 

Pulling an all-nighter with Yuri was probably not the smartest decision Otabek had ever made. Unless Katsuki decided to liven it up again, the banquet was going to be the same tedious affair it always was, and Otabek did not want to be sleep-deprived for it. On the other hand, from what he’d seen from Yuri in practice… it was going to be worth it. This was going to be _cool_.

Yuri was up last, and he was confident as Katsuki took the ice. Otabek liked Stammi Vicino, but he was too excited about Yuri’s performance to really pay attention… right up until the light changed and Viktor skated out to join Katsuki. “I guess we both planned surprises…”

“Those damn pigs!” Yuri shook with rage at the thought of being upstaged. “Stop. Otabek! My friend!”

Uhoh. Yuri had an idea. “What?”

“For my exhibition… you be in it too! We’re gonna be even more intense than those two!”

Otabek glanced out at the ice, where Yuri had Viktor in a lift. This was, almost certainly, a spectacularly bad idea if they didn’t want rumors getting started. Not that Otabek cared, but Yuri might. It would also mean Otabek couldn’t take video with his phone. “Yuri, I don’t even have my skates with me…”

Yuri grabbed the collar of Otabek’s jacket and pulled him down so their foreheads touched. “You wanted to watch me lay everyone flat out, right? So are you gonna do it, or not?”

He’d promised to help Yuri put together a cool program. If this was what Yuri wanted… “We’re friends, aren’t we? Then there’s only one answer. Do you have something specific in mind?”

“Yeah, two things. You know this song well enough to know when it’s about to end, right?”

“We certainly listened to it enough last night.” Not to mention he was the one who made the mix Yuri was using. Of course he knew the cues.

“Right as the song’s about to end, shoot me. Way cooler than just falling down dead for no explained reason.”

Otabek nodded. That was cooler, and an injoke between them from the club. “I can do that. What’s the other thing?”

“Remember how I asked about getting these gloves off?” Yuri held out a hand.

Otabek caught on quickly. He reached out and pulled the glove off in one swift motion. “So you come skate over to me and I take your gloves. Do you want them back, or should I throw them for the fans?”

“Whatever. Just be ready. I'll come over right after the split jump?” Yuri took his glove to put back on, just in time as Katsuki and Viktor left the ice. “Showtime.”

It started off simple enough, with Yuri striking a couple poses. He heard a couple gasps when Yuri let the jacket slip off his shoulders, but he pulled it back up and took off as the music started for real. When Yuri took his jacket off for real, tossing it toward the entrance to the rink, Otabek stepped out on the ice. First thing he did was pick up the jacket and hang it on the rail. Yuuri would definitely want it after laying on the ice in the ripped tank top. Then he moved a short way down, not too far since he didn’t have his skates, and leaned against the wall to wait for Yuri to come over.

As promised, Yuri started his way after a split jump, which is when the guy doing the lights noticed him. He rolled his neck while waiting for Yuri to get close enough. He resisted the temptation to duck as Yuri threw his sunglasses, waiting for the first hand. That one went as it had in “practice” – Yuri stuck out his right hand, Otabek started what looked like a handshake as he pulled the glove off and tossed it over his shoulder.

Whether Yuri meant to do it or not, Otabek had no idea, but Yuri’s left hand ended up right in front of his face. Reaching up for the glove with his hand would just look awkward, so instead, Otabek decided to use his teeth. Yuri made it easier for him by getting one of his fingers in Otabek’s mouth, giving him a good place to bite.

That one got tossed aside too, as Yuri skated away from him. Otabek was incredibly glad there was no spotlight on him as Yuri went into the Weir slide, and his shirt rode all the way up to his shoulders leaving his torso pretty much bare. This was definitely not what he’d expected when he came to Barcelona with the intention of finally talking to Yuri Plisetsky. Yuri started a spin as the end of the song approached, and as he pulled himself upright, Otabek took aim and shot. Yuri went down in a ridiculously graceful way, landing on the ice on his back – he must be freezing – with his hair fanned out around his head. Yuri was the most beautiful corpse Otabek could imagine.

Yuri got to his feet and skated to the side. Otabek tossed him the jacket, which Yuri took gratefully, and retrieved the glove he could see on the ice. By the time he made it back to Yuri, Yakov and Lilia were also there. “Explain.”

“If I skated Angel of the Fire Festival, my heart wouldn’t be in it because of how I messed up in my Free Skate. The crowd deserved better than that, so I did this instead.”

Lilia pursed her lips in disapproval. “How much of a part did that Kazakhstani boy play in getting this ready?”

Yuri scowled. “His name is Otabek. That was his music, and I bounced ideas off him. Be mad at me all you want, but leave him out of it. Everything he did, he did because I asked him to.”

Yakov raised a skeptical eyebrow. “The glove thing? That was entirely your idea?”

Yuri hesitated, and then, to Otabek's surprise, decided to lie. “Yes. It was.”

“Hmm. We’ll talk more about this later, Yuri. Once I’m done dealing with the officials. Go get that fifteen pounds of makeup off your face and get ready for the banquet, which so help me if you get into a drunken danceoff…” Yakov trailed off, leaving the rest to Yuri's imagination.

“I’m not going to drink, I know better than that. This isn’t Russia. And that drunken danceoff, that was all Piglet. Tell him not to get drunk and go crazy, not me. Or at least tell his coach to tell him that.” Yuri took the black jacket Lilia was holding – Otabek’s jacket, that he’d forgotten he’d given Yuri the night before when he was shivering – and pulled it on.

Yakov glared and Lilia had her best “You are a cockroach” face on as Yuri grabbed Otabek’s hand and led him off. Otabek tried not to let that bother him. As long as they didn't forbid Yuri to hang out with him, why should it matter if his coach and his choreographer approved of him? Once they were far enough away, Yuri burst into laughter. “Oh my god, their faces. I think Yakov was almost as angry as he was when I ran off to Japan chasing Viktor!”

“You… what?”

Yuri stopped laughing and stared up at Otabek in surprise. “Did you not know about Onsen on Ice?”

“Of course I did. Viktor pitted you against Katsuki, you skated better but Katsuki won because it wasn’t about scores like a normal competition.” Otabek had always wondered about that. Did Viktor set the judging standards in a way that favored Katsuki, so that Yuri wouldn't have a real chance? Not that Yuri had any reason to complain about how the rest of the season had gone.

“I did exactly what everyone expected me to do… a perfect technical performance, but my presentation was crap. The competition was about who could surprise the audience more. By that standard, Katsudon kicked my ass. Anyway, not the point. The point is Yakov found out I was in Japan for that when Mila showed him a selfie I posted on Instagram.”

Okay, Otabek could definitely see why Yakov would be pissed about that. It also explained why Yuri wasn't afraid to take Otabek's share of the blame on himself, too, if he wasn't afraid of Yakov's anger. “Thanks for trying to protect me. Lying to your coach…”

Yuri waved a hand. “You went along with my crazy ideas, least I could do is try to keep you out of trouble. Besides… did I lie? We didn’t talk about the glove bite, but I’m the one who put my hand right there by your mouth, what else were you supposed to do? It wasn't planned, but neither was half of what I did.”

“Okay, that is true,” Otabek had to admit. There was still the fact that he'd done it.

Yuri sighed and shoved his hands into the pocket of his – Otabek’s – jacket. “Guess we should probably go get the suits on. I hate these stupid banquets. At least last year, there was Katsudon making an idiot of himself. This year’s gonna suck.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've always wondered just how much of the fallout of "Onsen on Ice" Viktor expected - or even set up. It didn't just boost Yuuri's confidence and security by letting him earn Viktor's coaching instead of Viktor just showing up to do it for no reason Yuuri could see, it also served as a wakeup call to Yurio that he couldn't just get by on talent like he had in Juniors and motivated him to work harder in practice and work on improving his presentation scores. Did Viktor do that on purpose, or was it just a nice side effect, or did Viktor just think a competition would be fun?


	3. Chapter 3

The rumors had already started. By the time Otabek got out of the shower, his phone was exploding with notifications. His coach was furious, wanting to know what the Plisetsky kid had done to coerce Otabek into the performance. Otabek sent a text back taking full responsibility for his actions. JJ wanted the story. Otabek would be glad to tell him, once he figured out how the hell this had happened so fast. His little sister Dariya was losing her mind and texting every five minutes. He called her back. If she was texting him, she could pick up.

“Beka! What is happening in Barcelona? Mom is so pissed at you. Gran was watching!”

“Does Mom know you’re awake?”

“Yes. She said I could sleep as late as I wanted tomorrow if I got hold of you and got an explanation for how you ended up on TV ripping off Yuri Plisetsky’s glove with your teeth!”

“We’re friends, he asked me to be in his program, it wasn’t exactly planned considering we only started working on it last night.”

“Friends. Right. You know Gran’s planning the wedding already?”

“Shit.” She would be. At least she was being supportive. If he ever did bring Yuri home as a boyfriend, Gran would take him in without hesitation. And then Yuri would never speak to him again because his gran was over the top and embarrassing, but at least there would be support. “Tell them we’re friends, that it was just a performance and we got a little carried away. It’s the truth.”

“They’re not gonna buy it. Just saying.”

“I gotta go, there’s someone knocking at my door. Love you, Dar.” He hung up and answered the door, completely forgetting about his lack of pants. Or any other clothing, but right now, the pants were the big concern. Shirtless, he could get away with.

Yuri snorted in amusement and came in, carrying most of his suit with him. He, at least, had his pants on. “How bad were your notifications?”

“Bad. Why are you here?”

“I don’t know how to tie a tie, and I’m a little scared that if I asked Yakov or Viktor for help they’d use it to choke me.”

Otabek snorted. “You do realize coming over here half-dressed is not going to do a damn thing to stop the rumors?”

“Fuck the rumors. Nothing we do could stop them, anyway.”

“You don’t mind them?” Otabek found his pants and got into them as quickly as he could.

Yuri paused in buttoning his shirt. “You do?”

That gave Otabek pause. Did he mind the rumors, as long as they weren’t hurting Yuri? He did, just a little, but as Yuri said, there wasn’t much he could do to stop them. “A little. My grandmother’s already planning our wedding. Your Angels are going to be even crazier than usual. There are going to be questions because you’re fifteen. I’m supposed to be a national hero, and if the media takes this in the wrong direction, it might cost me sponsors.”

“Fuck. I hadn’t thought of that.”

“I didn’t think so. In theory, the rumors are fine. The potential consequences have me a little nervous.”

“Do you still want to be friends?”

Otabek swallowed his first answer, that he wanted to be more than that, and nodded. “I didn’t work my ass off for five years to get here just to back out because people like to gossip.”

“Do you…” Yuri stopped and went back to getting dressed, his face a little red.

“Do I what?”

Yuri handed Otabek his tie. “Do you know how this stupid thing works?”

“Yes. What were you about to ask?” Otabek got to work on getting Yuri’s tie done, keeping his eyes on his hands to make it easier to push Yuri for an answer.

“I was gonna ask if you wanted to be what the rumors say we are, but that’s dumb. Right now, you’ve at least got the defense for people who’d drop you over it that it’s just words, you’re not doing anything, why would you want to lose that?”

“I want it, but I can’t. Not yet. Ask me again at Worlds.”

“Yeah?” The pink on Yuri’s cheeks deepened a little, but he was smiling. “I’ll do that.”

 

The months between, Otabek and Yuri spent every moment they could talking, texting, and tagging each other in social media. The rumors hadn't gotten too bad, and both of them policed their public interactions to make sure it stayed that way, but their texts were a lot less filtered, and when they knew they had privacy for their FaceTime or Skype calls, things got downright flirty.

It wasn't much of a surprise when Yuri was waiting in the hotel lobby in Helsinki. Otabek smiled when he saw the cheetah print hoodie. "Yura!"

"Beka!" Yuri looked up and smiled. Very briefly. It was replaced by a hard look of determination as he got to his feet and marched up to Otabek. "Are you going to become my boyfriend or not?"

Otabek tried not to let his stoic facade crack. "Shouldn't you be telling me some romantic story about spending years pining and give me a weird compliment first?"

"Yeah, well, I tried to arrange an ambush from the Otababes that I could whisk you away from, but your fans are much more well-behaved than mine."

That made Otabek break out into a giant smile as he took the hand Yuri offered him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whoops! Time kinda got away from me on this one. Sorry about that; hope you enjoyed!


End file.
